Bittersweet Symphonia
by sleepingwiththefish
Summary: In the days after Armageddon there are two types of people; the caged and the free. Luka is an Eve, one of the four chosen to start an uprising and bring the capitalist dogs to an end. But just how far is she willing to go to save the few corrupted souls that see no more than four walls a day? And just how far can she travel with Gakupo before their relationship turns?
1. Grey Gods and Bitter Symphonies

A splash of colour wandered through the darkened grey streets of the abandoned city. Parasites sprawled beneath the old roads, through tunnels once inhabited by trains bustling toward there latest design of hell. Beneath the ruble hid lurkers and in the open, nothing. Her very being there was as though a slice of a rainbow had fallen from the heavens and onto the grey background that was the decrepit sanctuary for darkness after the war had ended. After humanity had all but destroyed itself in a flurry of bombs and gunfire. And now, the few survivors that remained were kept in a cage-like some sort of city like a menagerie.

The sound of her delicate footsteps were enough to raise the dead, though the sound from her dainty feet was so slight. Just a penny dropping was enough to make those things crawl out of their graves and onto the streets above to hunt for whatever had enticed them out of the darkness. However, it seemed that even the shadows were shying from her as the grey clouds parted and allowed a sliver of dull sunlight to break through and light her a path through the streets.

Slowly, she wandered through the streets with no real purpose other than the task she had been set. She was tall and skinny, no shorter than 5'9" but her body had the curves of a thin hourglass. Skin like the ivory keys of a piano and long hair that was a pastel shade of pink that shone like silk in the pathetic glimmer of sunlight that had forced it's way through the darkened clouds. Her eyes were the colour of crystals, an aqua blue that mirrored a pool of water in summer, her huge doe eyes framed by a long, delicate black mass of eyelashes. With cheeks tinted a pale peachy-pink and lips the colour of the buds upon her chest, her face was that of an angel and she supposed that was what she would become to the people she was searching for.

She was capable of thought though her mind was set solely on her purpose. She'd left the haven for a reason, however dangerous the journey to meet the task was, she was determined and her willpower alone had gotten her halfway through the journey. The boy behind her was probably another reason she had survived so far but she had kept him alive numerous times also. They were in a mutual sort of friendship.

"Luka... It will be getting dark soon."

The girl turned to look at her friend... no, partner in crime? That was probably a better description. His name to her was Gakupo, though he was no more than a robot made to serve her. He wore the a modern looking suit that held numerous swords on his back. Overall, he had, what? Nine or Ten swords? It wouldn't have surprised her since he was so prepared for everything. Hell, all she had was a jolt gun and a Japanese katana that she wielded with "poor accuracy" in Gakupo's words. Hah.

"I presume you mean you want to set up camp?" Luka asked, her voice light and melodic in comparison to Gakupo's shadowy, rough sound.

As she turned, Luka realized the area they were in was one of the places she knew by memory already. It was one of the three meeting places designated where she was to meet the other three Eves. They were girls who were members of the new age groups, leaders almost though they were officially known as the fruits of Eve. Two streets down at midnight, Luka would find the second girl and they would travel together, both complete with the one called the watcher. In Luka's case, Gakupo was her watcher.

"That would seem like a plan if we have not reached our destination." Gakupo replied, his voice more like that of a robot than a human.

Luka nodded and helped him set up a small camp. It was only small, but enough to hold out against the variety of creatures that dwelled beneath the ruins and came up for the night air. A small tent that the two would share, a lantern to give the two a little light, a small camp-fire for warmth and food and an electrical shield around the whole thing. The shield was one of the most expensive things they'd bought with them, the whole price funded by the richer followers of the New Order. A shield that formed a dome shape and if anything touched it, would fry into ash instantly. Everything but Luka and Gakupo, though she wasn't sure how that worked. Something like Luka and Gakupo had been injected with the opposite to the chemical that burned people up or something of the sort. Alas, she had no real clue.

After a small meal of canned meat and canned potatoes, she lay in her sleeping bag watching as the seconds passed. How the world had came to such a dark ending, even Luka could never understand. It made little to no sense, how the world had basically ceased to exist with the people murdering each other on the streets, filled with a fantasy of united opinions; as if any two people shared every single same opinion. It was such a naive idea that had caused war, something so trivial and easily avoided by nothing more than an ounce of respect for the opinions of others. Was something like that so difficult? Apparently so.

Seconds ticked on and Luka focused on the sound of Gakupo's breathing, the gentle but continuous inhale and exhale that followed a perfect pattern. The way his chest raised and lowered in an even, yet slightly monotonous beat. Yet, Luka's eyelids would not even begin to flicker as her aqua eyes darted between the silhouette of her "watcher" and the clock that ticked away as seconds passed. Soon enough, she was crawling from beneath the sheets and getting her weapons. It was time to find the second Eve.


	2. Darkened Deities and Hallowed Harmonies

Luka was stood inside the only remaining building within the whole city. At least, the only remaining building that wasn't plagued by the creatures and beasts that haunted the city. Marble floors and crystal chandeliers, the place was surely a thing of the past. When real wealth was worth something and not just an object or namesake that could be stolen.

The sound of heavy breathing and the heels of heavy boots on the stone floor made Luka clutch the triggers on both her guns. It was dark enough that she could only make out silhouettes and nothing more, but the sound was too light for a lurker. Or most beasts, actually. So, with gathered breath within her lungs, Luka breathed in before looking at the place she recognised the silhouette to have stopped before whispering, "We are the fruits upon Eve's tree,".

Her voice echoed through the hall until silence once again resumed. Luka raised her guns, her breathing steady and ready to shoot as she tried to aim on one of the two figures on the opposite side of the hall from her. Her left finger twitched on the trigger, not forcing it down to shoot but close enough that she was ready to when a voice replied, "And we are the sin that rose from the red."

Lowering her gun, Luka let out a sigh of relief as a lantern illuminated two people on the opposite side of the room. The one in front was clearly the water as she looked down a large gun, one that not even Luka recognized seeing before. It looked overpowered if anything, but she had no doubt that it would be strong enough to knock out any beast that lurked the streets. However, the watcher looked tired and weary, his diamond blue eyes surrounded by shadows.

However, the Eve was clearly one more brilliant than Luka herself. The girl was short, no taller than 5' in height, but busty with curves that even Luka longed for. Her hair was the colour of spring grass and her eyes matched with brilliant orange flecks, eyes that could mesmerize, seduce or destroy. She was whiter than white, pale as a sheet of paper and lips a deep shade of red as though she had just spilled blood from her mouth and stained her smile. And even Luka could see this girl was strong as well, wielding a two ninjatas and the clear view of what resembled a rocket launcher strapped to her back.

"My name is Luka and I am the first Eve." Luka said as she met the girl in the middle.

"Greetings. My name is Gumi and I am the second Eve." The girl smiled a small smile, one that made her lips appear to only curve on the one side. "This is my watcher, Len."

After properly exchanging greetings, Luka led them back to the camp that she and her watcher had set up beforehand. Though, upon reaching the camp, Luka could almost feel his stare. The menacing anger and the fact he seemed almost distressed both warmed and cooled Luka's heart in an instant. She could feel his piercing gaze as he pushed through the shield and hugged her.

For a small second, her heart skipped a beat and beat erratically until it became stone once more and he pushed her away, scolding her for leaving without notifying him. Then, he calmed and worked on making the shield larger in order to protect the two new folk. He seemed intrigued by one weapon that the girl carried, a metal bat that literally had nothing special about it. And yet, it intrigued the taller male to no end.

And finally, they all sat around the campfire as the second eve told them the recent occurrences.

To the people in the Havens, the safe places where people tried to survive with a small but friendly government, the centre with the danger and the largest amount of people was called the Zoo. Inside, there were thousands of survivors, the largest amount of all, but they were in a form of captivity. Breeding creatures who were forced to work so the big chiefs could continue living life as though the war had never broke out and Armageddon hadn't been achieved. As though they were still sat in their rooftop apartment complexes that overlooked the whole of New York.

The plan, however, was to cause an uprising in the Zoo. To bring the capitalist dogs to their knees and free the caged humans. Though it wasn't going to be easy, it was supposed to be easier than it would be expected. They weren't expected and so, they had the element of surprise on their side. Not to mention that they were going to take down a system held together by string, tape and a wish.

Luka nodded and listened intently until Gumi could speak no longer and collapsed into sleep due to fatigue. According to Len, their journey had been far from peaceful with constant surprise attacks from the beasts that not only plagued the cities but the graveyard forests that were littered with standing skeletons and collapsed corpses. Gumi, the second Eve, was fifteen whilst her friend Len was sixteen. He explained that she had no real family and he was all she had left, her only friend left in a world so dangerous and deceitful. Really, it was a shame.

When the boy fell into sleep, Luka finally turned to Gakupo and instead of speaking, just stared. She watched as he cleaned his blades and watched as he lowered the lamp and watched as he lowered himself beneath the covers of his makeshift bed. And as he closed his eyes, Luka could only hope that he would dream about her. Dream about her strength and brilliance and it would inspire him to stop being such an asshole and come to terms with the fact that she could protect herself from most things and that he didn't have to act like an insufferable prick for his whole, entire life.

And with those thoughts, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	3. Deeper Demons and Maroon Memoires

As the morning sun dawned upon her face, Gumi sat up straight and surveyed the area. The only person other than herself who was still asleep was the other Eve, Luka she recalled her name to be. It seemed slightly odd that the both of their watchers had disappeared but the small note on the ground quickly relieved her curiosity. They had gone hunting to search for anything valuable that they could take back to the old world; their definition was known as Hunting.

Yawning quietly, Gumi clambered out of the sleeping bag before laying her eyes upon a saucepan over the makeshift fire. Inside was something like oatmeal with a variety of dried fruits and nuts, though it smelled sweet as though sugar had been added. Quickly, she took walked over to the pot and set herself a bowl of the stuff.

As she ate, Gumi looked oddly at her arms. There were four consecutive squares on her arm, all scars covered over by ink. The first was a small tracker chip that had been inked in orange. The second was an injection that had costed an extortionate amount; the chemical that stopped her from being burnt to death by the chemicals in electrical shields, which was inked in an electric blue. Third was her anti-allergen scar which had involved a series of injections to remove her long list of allergies, which had been tattooed over in a forest green. Finally, the fourth was colored in purple and she had no idea what it was for. She'd had it since she could remember and even now, nobody had told her what it was.

Sighing, Gumi quickly ate the rest of her food before noticing the other girl stirring. She would soon awaken and Gumi knew she only had about ten minutes to herself left. So, she changed her clothes quickly and then smiled as she brushed her hair. Donning a black, leather waistcoat and green denim jeans, then a orange spaghetti-strap t-shirt, large black combat boots and the stockings she had grown so accustomed to. Then, she strapped the RPG to her back and attached the two katana swords to the holsters on her belt before walking through the shield as she attached a torch over her ear. She was thirsty but she could wait.

Instead, she walked to an old building to survey as she called it. She took out the swords and readied herself before switching on the torch to survey the inside. The first thing she noticed were the shells of the creepers. They were like woodlice only the size of a human and carrying thick armored shells on their back. They weren't overly dangerous since they couldn't really bite through much unless it was decaying flesh. However, they had small, scorpion like appendages on their back that secreted purple fluid. That fluid was venomous and caused hallucination, muscle failure and eventually death. And you'd be in pain until the very end.

But what lay on the floor were corpse shells. Empty of the creatures inside them which fed any easy meal to lurkers who were immune to the monstrosity's venom. The only problem was, the antibodies which fought off the venom were likely to kill humans. It would easily poison them and they would soon die because of it. There was literally no point in trying to provide the antibodies for the humans which would turn on the original antibodies until the humans insides destroyed themselves.

Yet, the sight of all the empty shells alarmed Gumi. One lurker wouldn't have either the strength or the hunger to do that, so that meant there had been a pack in the recent hours. And she knew it had been within the recent hours because of the stench of lurker waste, bile and the not yet dry blood that covered the old, broken cement. Hell, the stench of just death was enough to make her wretch but she wasn't ready to give up yet. She needed to track these monstrosities against humanity. If they were too close and were a large enough pack to kill this many creepers, and feed on them all.

Considering the body of a creeper was enough to feed three lurkers and there were at least nine creepers on the floor. However, it was the sound of breathing that alarmed her more than anything else. Slowly, Gumi drew her blades and began to slowly turn. And yet, her panic soon calmed when she saw the butchered, writhing body of a lurker.

The beast lacked anything below it's pelvic area, since it's legs had all but been ripped off and shredded. It's skin was grey from the skin pigmentation and dusty cement, yet areas were dyed a deep red from the blood. It's whole body and face resembled that of a naked human, though there were clear differences. This creature had a spine that was more curved and hunched, allowing it to walk on all fours as well as two legs. Therefore, it's arms were longer and the long, knobbly fingers ended in claws. It's limbs were long and sinewy, hardly any fat on their thin and almost fragile bones. It was female, clearly, as it's breasts hung like limp pieces of skin from it's protruding ribs and the darkened areola on each breast clearly showed it had produced offspring in the past.

Yet, their faces were nothing like that of a human. A lurker was known to be blind, so it's eyes were nothing but white. Yet, the bat-like clicks that fell from it's lips were more than enough to let them see. And the second Gumi let the torch shine in the creature's face, it let out an ear-piercing shrill of a wail. She covered her ears and looked at the monsters face, holding back vomit as she saw the three rows of small but razor-sharp teeth and the thin tongue that darted about as it screamed. It's nose was long gone, nothing more than two caves upon it's face to allow it to smell, two large ears and only a tiny bit of hair upon it's head.

Panicked, Gumi plunged one sword into the creature's throat before slamming it's head into the wall with her boot. The cry ceased immediately and was replaced with the grotesque squelch and crack as the things skull shattered and squashed beneath her thick heel. The stench was horrific and Gumi covered her nose as she walked from the building. She walked no more than two minutes before seeing Len, who looked distraught.

"Where were you, Gumi?!" Len hollered as he ran to her, sweeping her up in a hug.

"Tracking..." Gumi replied, her voice faltering near the end as he hugged her.

"You promised you were going to stop that. You're being paranoid, y'know that, right?" Len asked as Gumi shrugged her shoulders in response before taking a cloth from Len's pocket and wiping her sword clean.


	4. Simple Shadows and Copper Crossfire

The forests were in sight, no more than a mile away from the edge of the city as the roads began to connect with the dirt tracks ahead. Even the smell of the lush evergreen trees and overgrown ivy could be smelled from the point they stood at, which was a relief to Gumi. She hated the stench of the cities, nothing but death and dust to overwhelm her senses. And not to mention they would be closer to the third Eve than before. She was going to meet them in a week at the next city, though it was quite a trek.

Yet, it appeared the weather had other plans as the heavens collapsed and the rain came pouring down like a waterfall. It wouldn't have bothered any of them if it weren't for the low PH of the rainwater. It was roughly a two on the PH scale, meaning that if it touched the skin, it would be highly corrosive and burn through like acid. Yet another effect of the bombs that had exploded and permanently scarred the atmosphere above them all.

However, they were prepared. Above their heads was a small shield again that acted as an umbrella of sorts. The rain just bounced of and couldn't corrode through the shield. How their technology had came across the shield, Gumi would never know. But it was doing a good job of protecting her and the others so she had no real complaints.

"Where to now, Gumi?" The first Eve's watcher asked. His name was Gakupo, but he'd made no attempts to communicate with her and she had reciprocated that kindness. Until now, at least.

"Straight on, it's basically a straight route for the next three days." Gumi replied, shaking her head as she stood on something that looked like a rock but turned out to be a skull.

The four of them had agreed previously to set up camp in another standing building that had been labelled as "non-hostile", meaning that there were no lurkers or creepers inside. A lucky escape for them all, since it meant they were all more likely to be warm that night and they got a little more privacy. Which was nice, sort of.

"How long until we reach the camp?" Luka asked, looking at the sky to see the sun was quickly making it's way over the horizon.

"Roughly an hour, no longer." Len replied before smiling at the pink haired beauty.

A pang of jealousy punched Gumi in the gut as she watched Len grin. He had never smiled at her like that and she felt half offended, half betrayed. Grimacing, she made a small hissing sound while touching the tracker on her wrist. A blue-tinted hologram rose from her watch-like tracker and she gingerly pressed the map.

There were no real dangers around them. A few creepers below round. No lurkers for a good mile in each direction and it seemed the solar energy and acid rain was half helping them, in a way. You see, solar energy had an incredibly harmful effect on both lurkers and creepers. It burnt their skin instantly, causing them to blister up and slowly, painfully, burn to death and visibly shrivel up. Same for the acid rain, but that was why they traveled in daylight. It made life a little easier.

Next, she checked how far they were from the next checkpoint where they would meet up with the third Eve. They were still seven days away but they hardly rested from their trekking, so they were a few hours ahead. Finally, she checked her "team" and their vitals. She looked perfectly fine, though her fluid levels were low. She would have to drink some water soon. Len, he was practically perfect and it was the same for the other watcher. However, Luka appeared fatigued due to poor sleep the previous night. Perhaps she was an insomniac of sorts, though Gumi could make no clear connections since she had hardly watched the girl sleep or questioned her on it.

Closing down the hologram, Gumi sighed and slowed slightly until she was beside Len. He simply looked at her at first, as though questioning why she had slowed down. Yet, she slowed down even more until she was out of earshot of the other two. Then, she said to Len,"What do you think of those two?"

"Uh, I guess they're both pretty nice. Gakupo is pretty cool and his sword skills are awesome. Luka's pretty sweet and I can hardly believe she carries weapons like that!" Len said, grinning as he stared ahead to admire the pistols on Luka's hips.

"Alright." Gumi responded, crossing her arms and walking ahead slightly, eager to spend the remainder of the day ignoring him.

"Hey." Len said, jogging to catch up with her. "Did I say something wrong?"

_When don't you?_ In all the time Gumi had known Len, he had always seemed to know the right words to offend her or something. Sometimes it was clearly an accident and other times she just wondered if he had thought it all through in his mind. She supposed she had to give him some leeway since he was a male and in her opinion, most males were stupid and rather docile, but she wasn't about to forgive him. And forgive him for what? For offending her, though she didn't quite know how he'd managed to do such a thing.

"Gumi!" Len almost snapped as he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned to look at him suddenly, her face full of malice but her eyes shiny and wet with betrayal. She didn't know why she was like that around him, how her emotions snapped from one extreme to the next like a flurry of feelings had hit her like a brick wall or a blizzard. Still, she looked into his diamond blue eyes that were a clash between confusion and anger. "Why are you being like this? Have I done something?"

She sniffed and shrugged her shoulders before muttering, "Do you like her?"

"That's it?" Len asked, chuckling before pulling her in for a hug. "You're incredibly silly, Gumi."

* * *

The base they reached was a small house made from reinforced steel and concrete, meaning it was colder than expected, but warmer than the outside world. There were only a few rooms, so Luka and Gakupo took one while Gumi and Len took the other. Laying out her blankets on top of a few others before getting undressed and changing into a long white dress with puffy sleeves that tightened around her wrists. It was old fashioned but she felt more able to sleep if she wasn't in her normal clothes.

She could feel Len's stare as she removed her shirt and shorts, leaving her body in only the underwear she'd chosen earlier on that day. And when she turned around to glare at him when she had pulled the dress over her head, she noticed how he had a small blush on his cheeks as he had changed into a pair of baggy trousers and a grey shirt.

"I smell food." Len said blandly, busying himself with reloading his gun with new capsules.

"I'm not hungry." Gumi replied emptily, folding her clothes neatly before sitting cross-legged on the blankets.

Len shrugged and sighed, finishing up reloading the capsules and putting the gun on his bed. Shaking his head, he left the room. For a second, there was silence before he poked his head through the gap between the door and door-frame and said, "Nice panties, by the way."

Rolling her eyes, Gumi turned away and focused back on her tracker before checking everyone's vitals. Everyone seemed to be fine, even her though fatigue was really setting in for everyone. Then, she checked the weather. Since it fluctuated so often within the city where the atmosphere was the most damaged, the weather wasn't exactly dependable. However, it seemed likely that the next day would be warm and sunny, especially in the forest that was not even a ten minute walk away.

Sighing, she pulled up a keyboard in the interactive hologram and began to type.

_It seems like the days and nights are both going to be our enemy soon enough. In the city, there is no life. It is as though even the animals are sensible enough as to not try to invade the once war zones and have instead retreated to their original home where they are safe from the radiation and mutations. Yet, the second our feet touch the dirt path we will have to watch for the mutations and the wildlife. They are both threats to our very existence in such a fragile world.  
My appetite has faded but I know it is a side affect of my allergy treatment, so I am not so bothered by it. I know that I have no reason to worry but I worry about our whole team. Two Eve's and two watchers, so I know our importance is pretty high. But I can't help but feel like the others don't really care about this mission. We are trying to free people, and yet nobody seems to give a damn. Do they not understand the importance of this all? The fact that we have to kill off a corrupt government?  
Though my personal feelings should not be involved, I can not help but miss my twin. He is not here when I need him to watch over me. He volunteered but never made his way passed all the trials because of the damage to his left ear. And yet, I wish he was here rather than Len. Len is the type of human who lives to frustrate me and yet, my heart swells and pumps faster when I think of him and see his brilliant diamond eyes... However, this is a mission and most definitely not a love scene in some book. Therefore, I shall not allow my feelings to invade this._

Sighing, she closed down the hologram and lay her head against the pillow to try and sleep. She was tired of her emotions running wild and the silent death threats from every direction. Sleep was a happy escape and her eyes quickly closed as her soul and body relaxed and slept.

Had she stayed awake a little longer, she would've seen Len pull the blankets over her and kiss her cheek goodnight...


End file.
